Still Life with Guitar - Lyubov Popova

A 1915 Cubo-Futurist masterpiece by Lyubov Popova. This still life uses fragmented geometric planes and Cyrillic text to deconstruct a guitar and tabletop objects.

Lyubov Popova painted Still Life with Guitar in 1915 during the height of the Russian avant-garde movement. This work is a primary example of Cubo-Futurism. This style merged the structural analysis of Parisian Cubism with the energetic focus on modernity found in Italian Futurism. Popova travelled to Paris in 1912 to study under Jean Metzinger and Henri Le Fauconnier. Their influence is visible in the way she deconstructs objects into overlapping planes. The composition features a guitar as its central motif. Popova breaks the instrument into various geometric components. She uses a palette of ochre, deep blue, and forest green. The painting includes Cyrillic lettering and fragments of what appear to be newspaper or labels. These elements suggest the influence of synthetic cubism. The inclusion of text grounds the abstract forms in the physical world of a cafe or studio. Popova uses heavy outlines and varied textures to create a sense of depth without traditional perspective. The upper right corner shows a simplified fruit form, possibly an apple. To the left, a scroll-like shape suggests the headstock of the guitar. The work avoids a single viewpoint. Instead, it presents the subject from multiple angles simultaneously. This technique was a radical departure from representational art in early twentieth-century Russia.